Home of Peace Jewish CemeteryHelena's
oldest acive cemetery and the oldest active Jewish cemetery in Montana
 THE MATERIAL IN THIS SECTION IS ADAPTED FROM THE HOME OF PEACE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESREGISTRATION
FORM Courtesy
of Ellen Baumler

The ca. 1910
front (west) gate, Home of Peace Cemetery

Home of
Peace Cemetery is located near the west side of Capital High
School, south of Custer Avenue, close to the Lewis and Clark
County Fairgrounds. Home of Peace was founded in 1867 by Helena's
Hebrew Benevolent Society.

The Jews
who settled in early-day Helena were primarily from Prussia
or Germany and practiced Reform Judaism. They were prominent
in trade during Helena's beginning, and were held in high esteem
by the gentile community. Jews easily partnered with non-Jews
in building and rebuilding the fledgling city. The Montana Club
and the various Masonic orders in Helena welcomed Jews as members.
Such easygoing integration was not the case in other Montana
cities of the era.

On July
11, 1867 Helena's Hebrew Benevolent Society began steps to acquire
a plot of land for use as a cemetery. Prior to establishing
Home of Peace, Jews were buried along with everyone else in
the City Cemetery, which occupied the site where Central School
is today. The bodies of those pioneer Jews were later reburied
at Home of Peace; the others buried there were eventually re-interred
at the Benton Avenue Cemetery.

Helena's
Jewish population reached its peak in the 1890s. The second
generation began to move away for better educational and employment
opportunities, and the city's Jewish population began to decline.

There are
inscriptions carved into the central pillars of the stone gate
shown above. The one on the right (south) reads: "Erected
by Morris Sands as a memorial to the sacred memory of his beloved
wife Lizzie who departed this life Jan. 9, 1907". The inscription
on the north pillar reads: "Erected to the memory of Morris
Sands who departed this life Dec. 14, 1910."

A recent satellite
image of Home of Peace Cemetery.

A map of
Home of Peace, in the same orientation as the satellite image.
The structures shown at the bottom left-center are two sheds
(a landscaper's shed and a pump house) and a water tower. The
water tower was supplied by a well until 1921, when The First
Jewish Benevolent and Cemetery Association opted to connect
to the City of Helena water supply.

A few early
burials are still in place beneath the area designated "Practice
Football Field", adjacent to Capital High School, separated
from Home of peace by a chain link fence. Some broken tombstones
from burials outside the fence have been placed near the base
of the water tower.

A view through
the gates. The large trees along the driveway were planted in 1910.

Looking east,
inside the gates.

The Sands family
plot.

Eisbert and Turk
markers.

Hirschberg and
Loeb markers.

Displaced markers
at the base of the water tower.

Looking
west at the undeveloped NW section of the cemetery property.
This view shows some of the 1867 wrought-iron fence which still
surrounds most of the property.

The cemetery
is currently administered by The Home of Peace Cemetery Association,
1615 Stuart Street, Helena MT 59601.